While walking along a riverbank at some rapids, an old man slipped on a wet rock near the edge and fell in. Onlookers watched in horror as he was swept toward and then over a high waterfall. However, there was great joy when he emerged bruised but otherwise unharmed downstream. “How did you manage to survive?” asked one man…

There is a story about a young man in Japan who wanted to be the greatest martial artist of the land. He thought that to reach this goal, he must study with the best instructor, who lived many miles away.

One day he left home to go study with this great teacher. After traveling for several days, he arrived at the school and was given an audience with the teacher. “What do you wish to learn from me?” the master asked.

“I want you to teach me your art and help me become one of the best martial artist’s in the country,” the young man replied. “How long must I study?”

“Ten years at least,” the master answered.

The young man thought, ten years is a lot of time. I want to get his done sooner than that. I don’t have that much time. Certainly if I try harder I can complete this task quicker. So he asked the master, “What if I studied twice as hard as everyone else? How long would it take then?”